Chap II. RUTA BAG A CULTURE. 115 



men for that of all the Lords that ever were cre- 

 ated, though there are some of them very able 

 and upright men too. 



117. Then, if 1 may be suffered to digress a lit- 

 tle further here, there exists, in England, an in- 

 stitution which has caused a sort oi identity of agri- 

 culture with politics. The Board of Agriculture, 

 established by Pitt for the purpose of sending spies 

 about the countr}^, under the guise of agricultural 

 surveyors, in order to learn the cast of men's poli- 

 tics as well as the taxable capacities of their farms 

 and property ; this Board gives no premium or 

 praise to any but " loyal farmers," who are gene- 

 rail}^ the greatest fools. I, for my part, have ne- 

 ver had any communication with it. It was always 

 an object of ridicule and contempt with me ; but, 

 I know this to be the rule of that body, which is, 

 in fact, only a little twig of the vast tree of Cor- 

 ruption, which stunts and bhghts and blasts all 

 that approaches its poisoned purlieu. This Board 

 has for its Secretary, Mr. Artkur Young, a man of 

 great talents, bribed from his good principles, by 

 this place of five hundred pounds a year. But, 

 Mr. YouN^G, though a most able man, is not al- 

 ways to be trusted. He is a bold asserter ; and 

 very few of his statements proceed upon actual 

 experiments. And, as to what this Board h^s pub- 

 lished^ at the public expense, under the name of 

 Communv'cations, I defy the v»'orld to match it as a 

 mass of illiterate, unintelligible, and useless trash. 

 The only paper, published by this Board, that I 

 ever thought worth keeping, was an account of the 

 produce from a single cow, communicated by Mr. 

 Cramp, the jail-keeper of the County of Sussex ; 

 which contained very interesting and wonderful 

 facts, properly authenticated, and stated in a clear 

 manner. 



118. Arthur Young is blind, and never attends 

 the Board. Indeed, sorrowful to relate, he is be- 



